Time, Truth and Hearts
by Tericon
Summary: My first fan fiction, suitable for teens, set after Adam, mostly Jack/Inato fluff with a pretty okish story about a mad scientist in the background. Reviews wanted


Time, Truth and Hearts

_By Natalie J Beard_

Ianto reclined in his leather seat. His computer was ablaze with junk emails he hadn't read but he wasn't interested in those. Instead he opened up his diary. Since Jack discovering his diary, Ianto had resolved to keep his diary safely encoded in his user area. Not that there was anything new inside it. He browsed through the old entries, the ones he'd copied up from his written rantings. The ones Jack had read. Ianto had all but given up on Jack. He knew! He knew how Ianto felt, but still there had been nothing, no remarks. Nothing. There had been that kiss...how could Ianto forget that that kiss! It was then that Ianto had thought there was something between them, beyond lust...even love. But Ianto had moved on from then, he'd given up hope, after all...Jack was far more interested in Gwen. With a sigh he switched off his computer, and took another draught from his coffee cup, it was then that he spied Jack and Gwen in the briefing room, his arms around her...Ianto felt his head spin and he stood up, blinked, but still the two stood, entwined, his lips brushing hers. Ianto felt the floor twist from under him, he grasped at his desk, the tiny circles on the carpet resembled the whirling mass of feeling inside his brain. He felt tears leak from his eyes and he sat there, his hair lightly brushing the glass desk, for what seemed like an eternity.

"Ianto? You alright mate?" came a distant voice from beyond the void.

"O-Owen?" stammered Ianto, immediately pulling himself up and brushing the tiny particles from his suit, his eyes focusing on the lab-coat clad figure in front of him.

"What's up with you?"

"I'm ok"

"Yeah right! Ianto...look...i can help mate...I know I ain't exactly the sincerest person around but...y'know I can still help..."

"I'm fine" Ianto murmered, fixing Owen with what he hoped was a 'back off' look.

"Well...erm...we've got a call...some woman hysterical, something about a monster...Jack says we should check it out."

"Why can't Jack?" Ianto said, rather quickly, making Owen raise an eyebrow.

"He went somewhere with Gwen...he said something about residual energy over at hers..."

"Bastard" snarled Ianto, surprising even himself.

Owen's confused frown went even further south, "Ianto...Tosh can handle this call if you aren't feeling up to it..."

"I said I was fine" Ianto muttered darkly, before storming past Owen to reach for his coat.

"I was expecting the police..." muttered the elderly blonde in the doorway.

"Torchwood" smiled Owen, showing her his ID, "We're a lot more...specialised then the cops..."

The woman peered at the ID for a few seconds, before letting them through.

"So...erm...whats the problem?" Owen said, settling himself in a small red armchair.

"Well I was just getting up and I always check the house in the morning...y'know, like you do...must be gettin' a little paranoid in me age-,"

"Cut the crap" shot Ianto, looming over the woman with an annoyed scowl painted across his face.

"What's up with you?" asked Owen, staring at Ianto as if he'd never seen him before.

Ianto shook his head, and strode away from Owen, focusing instead on the Cardiff countryside visible through the window.

"Sorry about that, so what happened?" Owen said, turning his attention to the woman.

"I went down to the cellar...and there it was...this beast...this h-horrible t-thing..." stuttered the woman, hastily wiping her eyes with a flowery handkerchief, "It had a big head, pink and wrinkly, and the most awful teeth...I just locked the cellar door and called the police...I've never seen anything like it before...it was horrible..."

Owen nodded in a mock sympathetic manner, before standing up and eyeing Ianto.

"Ianto..."

Ianto turned round, his face solemn.

"Let's go check this bastard out"

The pair went downstairs into the woman's kitchen; there they found a metal door that had been obsessively padlocked three times, the keys nowhere in sight.

"Sounds like a Weevil" murmured Ianto, crouching at Owen's side as Owen started to pick at the locks with a tension wrench.

"Yeah...nothing we can't handle" Owen replied, pausing to scratch his chin. A few seconds later and the locks were picked; Owen opened the trapdoor to reveal a set of rotting wooden stairs.

"After you" he grinned.

"Thanks"

"Well...you are armed"

Ianto grunted in reply as he clambered down, Owen only a few steps behind him.

"Anything?"

Ianto had a quick scan of the room before him, which was mostly barren and miserable looking with its grey stone walls and dusty red carpet. Empty, apart from a few crates piled in a corner.

"Empty"

Owen stood beside him, his scanner in hand.

"There is some kind of energy though...almost the same reading as rift energy..."

Ianto laughed, "I doubt a rift would open in this old codger's cellar, besides rifts tend to be a lot bigger..."

"Yeah...Well...im gonna stay and have a better look round, could you do us a favour and make the woman a cuppa...put a bit of sugar in and she won't taste the pill."

Ianto nodded and returned upstairs.

Owen walked forwards steadily, all the time his eyes focused on the scanner, the reading didn't change. When he looked up, he found himself beside the crates in the corner; he suddenly noticed a metal sphere balanced precariously on top of the utmost crate. He scanned it, and again there was no change.

"Dead" he muttered to himself, before taking a plastic bag from his pocket and carefully wrapping the metal sphere inside it, he returned upstairs. He was immediately confronted by the woman, now wielding a cup of tea.

"Did you see it?"

"No... We think it might have teleported back to where it came from...no need to worry" he smiled, hiding the bag behind his back.

"Thank you ever so much"

"Enjoy your tea" Owen replied, before making his way back to the car. Ianto sat in the driving seat, Owen gave him the bag.

"Definitely alien" Ianto remarked, studying the sphere.

"Yep, showed up dead on the scanner, we should still take it back to the Hub for a second opinion."

Ianto nodded, before firing up the engine.

When they got back the Hub was empty, so Ianto wandered back up to his office and had a flick through the artefact archives on the Torchwood database, but there was nothing that resembled the sphere. By the time Ianto had checked his emails and updated his diary it was almost time to return to his apartment. He shut down his computer and reached for his coat, he was about to open the door when he almost collided with Jack who was stood in the doorframe, grinning as usual.

"Whoa...not so fast Ianto old buddy, got something I want you to take a look at"

Ianto sighed in annoyance and fixed Jack with a deadly stare.

"Where have you been all day?"

Jack walked further into the office, and leaned against the doorframe.

"Gwen had something she wanted me to investigate."

"I'm sure she did" muttered Ianto under his breath, clutching his coat ever tighter.

"I heard that"

"Good"

"Ianto...will you stop this? Gwen's got Rhys, what makes you think id let her cheat on him with me?"

"Because you'll fuck anyone who comes within a five mile radius, engaged or not..."

Jack laughed, "Is that what you think of me?"

Ianto thought for a moment, "No..." he hesitated, biting his lip anxiously, "But you're more than capable of that."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

_You would _Ianto thought, knowing better than to speak his thoughts out loud. Not that it would matter. Jack could read him like a book.

"Anyway... what do you make of this?" Jack said, producing a familiar sphere from his pocket.

"Snap" said Ianto, picking up the one that was gathering dust on his desk.

"Ah...now that is interesting" pondered Jack, "I suppose you've scanned it?"

"Dead"

"Snap again...well I don't think its too urgent, Tosh can work her magic on these tomorrow...besides...we're going out tonight...Team Torchwood outing...up for it?"

Ianto nodded, "Suppose... long as you don't get me drunk again"

Jack laughed, "I can't promise that" he winked.

"You were flirting with him!" boomed Rhys, his mouth curled in a snarl.

"I wasn't" Gwen murmured back, too tired to argue.

"You laughed at all his jokes; you were always looking at him! When I asked if you wanted a cuppa' you ignored me!"

"I didn't hear you!"

"Yeah! Too busy talking to pretty boy..."

"Rhys! For god's sake! Give it a rest!"

"Gwen...I can't...he wants you Gwen...I see it in his eyes...and who are gonna pick eh? A boring fat welsh twat like me or 'im?"

"Will you just trust me?! Can you not do that?"

"Course I trust you darling...its just...i can't stand it y'know? The way he looks at you..."

"You know what? Fuck you Rhys...maybe iam better off with Jack..."

Gwen walked past Rhys, heading straight for the door.

"Gwen...wait..."

But she'd already gone.

Jack was the first to arrive at the venue. Eleven O clock he'd told everyone, at the club not far from the Hub. The club wasn't packed, there were a few couples dancing, a pair kissing in the corner and the usual drunks sat on the bat stools, the barman nodded and smiled at Jack as he entered.

"Allright mate? Usual?"

"Flirting with me Dave?" Jack grinned.

The barman winked, "In your dreams...now what you 'avin?"

Jack opened his wallet and took out a fiver.

"Usual"

The barman reached for a pint glass and a few seconds later, a foaming pint of lager sat before Jack, he took it and with a final cheeky wink at the barman he sat down, not at his usual table but at one in the corner, with enough seats for the team. Tosh arrived first, punctual as usual, dressed in a small black dress; she hung up her leather jacket and ordered a Bacardi from the barman before joining Jack.

"So...have you got an ulterior motive tonight Jack?"

Jack took a sip from his pint glass.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well...this is...unusaul...a 'team' outing"

"True... I should pay you guys more attention...i mean we sit in that underground bunker all day, zap a few aliens and never have any proper winding down time together...so from now on...Team Torchwood go out and get wasted every Friday night!" Jack said, perhaps a little too enthustically, as several slightly obese drunks looked at him and guffawed to each other about 'gays.' Jack gave them a small smile and a wave.

Jack was halfway through his pint when Gwen arrived, still in her work clothes. She looked flustered.

"Gwen? You ok?" Jack asked tentatively.

"Do I look ok?" she snapped, casting Jack a sideways glance as she sat beside Tosh.

"No...would a drink make you feel better?"

"It's Rhys"

"What about him?"

"We...we had an argument." Gwen replied, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Hey...It's ok...im sure it'll be ok later...you know what men are like..." Tosh said soothingly, pulling Gwen into an embrace.

"It's just...he got a bit annoyed...he thought...I was flirting with Jack..."

At this point Jack had to take a large mouthful of lager to stop himself from laughing.

"And...I-I just got annoyed...annoyed that he didn't trust me...and I stormed out...I just can't take it y'know? He thinks...thinks I'd cheat on him with Jack...i mean...how ridiculous is that?!"

Jack couldn't restrain a small chuckle; Tosh shot him an evil glare.

"Give it time Gwen...he'll come round."

"Tosh?"

"Yeah honey?"

"Can I stay at yours tonight...y'know...just to get away from him..."

"Course you can! It'll be nice to have some company...now buck up woman...I'll get you a gin."

Tosh got up and went to the bar, Gwen tried to make eye contact with Jack but he avoided her gaze. It must have been about ten minutes later when Gwen was nursing her drink that Owen and Ianto arrived. Owen dressed in a black shirt, (the first three buttons of which were undone), and a pair of slashed jeans whilst Ianto still wore his work suit.

"Hey! What you two been up to?" laughed Jack as they came back from the bar and sat down.

"Ianto's car broke down and I gave him a lift" Owen said.

"Oh..." replied Jack with a grin, his eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Jack...for the last time...I'm not gay"

"My ex said that...before-,"

"Jack...we don't want to know about your sexual endeavours" giggled Tosh, now onto her second Bacardi Breezer.

"Are you sure? You guys could learn a lot..."

Gwen and Tosh left early when Gwen started complaining about a headache, eager for the night not to end, Jack stood up and got out his wallet.

"My round! Same again peeps?" he said, looking at the two men.

"Another pint ta Jack" slurred Owen, handing Jack his glass with a shaking hand.

"Ianto?"

"Double whisky" Ianto replied, holding out his glass. Jack reached out to take it and for a fraction of a second his fingers lightly brushed the back of Ianto's hand and for that fraction of a second their eyes met and time seemed to stop, Ianto could feel himself drowning in those blue eyes...and then Jack looked away and

walked to the bar. The night didn't go on for much longer, the last straw was when Owen stumbled and fell flat on his face on the way to the gents.

"I'm foo phished ter piss!" he giggled as Ianto and Jack pulled him off the floor and escorted him to the toilet door. As Ianto waited for Owen he glanced at Jack in the corner, finishing his pint, he thought about going to talk to him and was about to when Owen emerged, the same grin still plastered over his face.

"Can you frive Anto?" Owen slurred, passing the car keys to Ianto.

"Yes...I think that's best" he murmured, before slinging Owen's arm over his shoulder and making their way out. When Ianto looked at the corner, Jack had already gone.

Morning came too quickly for Ianto; he reached over to shut his alarm off, before glancing at the neon digits. Seven am, an hour before he had to be in work. He groaned and kicked the covers off his bed before standing up. He immediately got in the shower, turned the water on full blast and reached for his shampoo. Anti-dandruff of course. Not that he had a dandruff problem anymore, he used to, when he was a kid, the endless taunts had gotten to him and ever since he'd stuck to Anti-dandruff shampoo. Ten minutes later Ianto stepped from the shower feeling truly awake, as he trudged back into his bedroom, he passed a photo of him and Lisa. The good old days, before Torchwood, before Jack. Just him and Lisa. Ianto smiled as he remembered, but feeling somehow detached from the photo, he left it face down. He'd moved on since then. These were new times and Ianto wasn't one to wallow in the pleasures of the past. Ianto opened his wardrobe and decided today wasn't a suit day; he pulled out his black waistcoat and white shirt, and picked out his jeans. He was feeling adventurous today. When he was fully clothed, he made himself a bacon sarnie and a hot cup of Earl Grey, Ianto certainly wasn't posh, but he liked a cup of 'proper tea' every now and then instead of the Hub's watery brew. After he'd finished the last morsel of his greasy breakfast, Ianto picked his leather jacket off the coat stand and put it on, before making his way to the nearest bus stop. His abandoned Jaguar still sat outside his door on its haunches, two of its wheels sunk into the gravel of his drive. The bus stop wasn't far from Ianto's apartment and he was surprised to find the bus was on time, a rarity in Cardiff, Ianto had to wave frantically at the bus driver for him to stop. Once on the bus, Ianto seated himself beside a fairly worn looking elderly man, who was still clutching onto his Gold card as if it was his very life. Ianto had a dislike for the elderly and winced perhaps a little too obviously every time the man drew breath a little too audibly.

Ianto arrived at the Hub a couple of minutes late, however, Jack seemed a little too preoccupied with Gwen, the pair were engaged in a very enigmatic conversation, Ianto couldn't resist moving a little closer...

"Jack...why do you keep doing this? It's obvious how you feel..."

"Look, Gwen...I-I just don't know...you've got Rhys..."

"I don't want want Rhys...I want you..."

"Now you're just being silly..." Jack signed, turning away from her.

"Jack...im serious..." Gwen said her hand on his shoulder. He turned to face her and before he could even protest she kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck, Jack felt the familiar feeling wash over him and he kissed her back, his fingers reaching to undo her blouse, where her fingers stopped him and she whispered something to him that was inaudible to Ianto, before walking away, a sly smile playing across her lips. Ianto felt nothing, no tears leaked from his eyes this time; instead he tore his eyes away from Jack and trudged back to his desk. There he finished a memo to UNIT regarding a large number of so called 'alien activity' incidents, before typing what he'd seen and how he felt into his diary. At nine, Jack called everyone into the briefing room, Ianto sat on his usual seat, which happened to be beside where Jack stood, Ianto avoided his gaze.

"Morning everyone...hope there's no ill effects from last night?" he beamed, glancing sideways to his left at Owen who sat with his head in his hands, clutching a glass of water.

"Anyway...to business...Tosh...I have some work for you"

"Yeah Gwen said something about a metal sphere?"

"Two actually, both identical, both dead, one was found at a house over on Green St and the other at Gwen's house, nothing like 'em on the archives, so wondered if you could take a closer look at them? I put them on your desk before I came in"

"No problem" smiled Tosh.

"And the rest of you can sit tight...Oh Ianto...have you done those memos?"

"Yes, I'll email them to you so you can check them."

"No need...I trust your judgement"

_You don't usually _thought Ianto bitterly.

"Right...well...you're all dismissed...Ianto could i have a word?"

The rest left the room, Ianto stood up, folded his arms and looked at Jack expectantly who seemed to look rather uncomfortable.

"Look...I know we haven't had much time to ourselves recently...but...i wondered if you'd like to go for a drink tonight? Just the two of us..."

Ianto laughed. "Don't you...erm...already have plans? With Gwen?" he said rather coldly.

"No...not plans as such..."

"Listen Jack...im not your plaything, im not gonna let you fuck about with me...and iam not playing second best to Gwen."

"Hey Ianto, I-,"

"No, it's either me or Gwen...make your mind up Jack..." Ianto replied, before striding out of the room, feeling quite pleased with himself. Ianto was quite surprised he'd found the courage to say what he'd said but he was glad he did, somehow he already knew who Jack would pick, he'd always fancied Gwen since day one...Ianto didn't have a hope. Still, he rewarded himself with a nice cup of watery tea, Hub style. He sent Jack those emails, and then quickly went to the loo, before sipping his now lukewarm tea. It did taste quite odd, odder than usual. _Perhaps it's finally given up on life_ thought Ianto bitterly, glancing at the slightly rusty coffee machine in an almost pitiful manner. He knew that feeling only too well, when he'd had to say goodbye to Lisa, he'd sunk into a kind of trance, a depression, not answering his phone, not turning up for work, he used to sit in his favourite armchair by the window and watch the world blissfully go about its business. He felt a little sad now but not nearly sad enough to rival how he'd felt back then, he knew what was coming; he could almost picture the conversation he and Jack would have...

"Ianto...I've made my choice..."

"Go on..."

"It's just...me and Gwen. We have something...and im sorry Ianto...but im not giving her up..."

Ianto sighed as he contemplated this, he half-heartedly updated his diary, before watching the clock directly in front of him and its tiny hands, slowly making their way round the circumference. Suddenly he felt a little light-headed, a little dreamy; he slumped in his chair, his eyes still squinting at the clock. Ianto's mouth felt like a desert, he slowly reached for a glass of water, spilling half of it onto the floor and he brought it, trembling to his lips, he sipped a little, and still he felt dry, drained of life, gradually he felt all his resolve drain away, he was so weak he couldn't even move his toes, he felt himself slide, so slowly it was almost painful, yet he was powerless to stop himself, he fell onto the carpet with a dull thud and felt his very eyelids give in.

Jack watched Ianto slumping in his chair and thought it quite odd, he wondered if he should go and see if he was alright, but he was afraid Ianto would snap at him again, besides he was probably just upset. _Upset at what? _Jack found himself thinking. Ianto knew what he was like, knew what a difficult choice he was forcing Jack to make. His feelings for Gwen weren't really love, merely attraction, they were like magnets, they just fitted together, sure, Jack enjoyed flirting with her, even when she was with Rhys, what was wrong with that? He couldn't understand what woman had against it, though it seemed Ianto wasn't to keen on it either, unless of course, it was he Jack was flirting with. Ianto was different altogether, for a while he'd felt indifferent to Ianto, yeah sure, he was a member of the team, but he never had fitted in, until after Jack returned , he'd changed, he was more mature and Jack felt close to him, like he did all the others, perhaps even closer. Ianto's feelings for him were clear, Jack hadn't needn't to read the diary, he'd sussed it out before then, still...the diary was quite amusing...Ianto was besotted, in love perhaps, the question was...did Jack feel the same? He didn't know, his brain was muddled right now, he needed time maybe lots of it, the problem was, he didn't know how much time Ianto was planning to give him. A soft thud interupted Jack's thought train and he was surprised to find Ianto had slumped onto the floor. Now he was worried enough to risk a grilling. He jogged down the stairs as quickly as he could and opened Ianto's office door. He was still there, slumped all over the carpet, his face was covered in sweat and he was muttering words under his breath.

"Ianto?" tried Jack. No reply. He was out of it. Jack knelt next to him and felt a pang of horror when he saw Ianto's face up close. He was pale, too pale. Jack felt himself panicking; he didn't have any medical knowledge whatsoever and knew not what was happening. Ianto started to shake uncontrollably and Jack desperately held him down, while fumbling with his earpiece.

"Jack?"

"Tosh...Get Owen...Owen...Ianto's office...now!"

Jack heard Ianto mumble his name, and he smiled, despite the bile rising in his stomach, he was relived when Owen charged in, wielding a first aid kit.

"What happened?" asked Owen, looking confused.

"I-I don't know...h-he was just lying here..."

"He was ok before..." pondered Owen, whilst grabbing his stethoscope.

"Yeah..."

"Heart-rate's accelerated...wow..Its fast, too fast...he should be dead..."

Jack felt his eyes well with tears.

Tosh and Gwen burst into the office, and stood back, looks of bewilderment all over their faces.

"Ianto? Ianto? Can you hear me?" Owen asked, gently prodding him, whilst Jack still held him still.

"Water...I need water..." mumbled Ianto, who had stopped shaking, and had opened his eyes which were and looking in Owen's general direction.

"Sorry matey...can't give you any" Owen replied, still frowning extensively.

"Shouldn't be thirsty...he's halfway through his tea..."

Owen looked at Jack. "Tea? Give it here"

Jack passed him Ianto's mug.

Owen looked at the liquid inside and smelt it, a look of revulsion clear on his face.

"Poison"

"Poison?! H-how...? Who?"

"I don't know, get him some water, get as much down him as you can, it'll dilute the poison, and I need to find my poison kit" Owen said, before running towards the medical quarters. Jack sprinted into the mens, grabbing a jug and filled it to the top with water; on his way out he found a glass and poured the some water into it, before slowly trickling it into Ianto's mouth.

"More..."

"I'm on it Ianto...you stay with us ok?" Jack replied hastily, filling the glass again.

Owen retuned a few cupfuls later, a syringe in his hand.

"Nothing we can't handle" he murmured reassuringly, "You'll be back up in no time Ianto."

Ianto winced as the greenish liquid went into his vein; Owen gave him a grin, before standing back up.

"He should be ok now..." he told everyone, his face grim, "But we need to find out how this happened..."

"Oh I think I can shed a little light on that" said a voice. Jack spun round and saw a middle-aged man, dressed in a lab coat standing before him.

"Who a-,"

"My name is Professor Cartwright...and you are Torchwood."

"Well aren't you a clever bastard" snarled Jack.

"Captain Jack Harkness...now you're an interesting fellow..."

"Indeed iam...can you shed the light now please...?" Jack asked, as politely as he could manage, whilst his left arm pulled his gun from its holster.

"If you try to fire that gun, I think you'll find it malfucntional..."

Jack dropped his gun and strode towards Cartwright, and folded his arms expectantly.

"I've been watching you for quite some time...and studying your work..."

"Watch us? How?" asked Tosh.

Cartwright laughed, "I feel like im in those movies, y'know where the villain thinks he's won and tells the good guy how wonderful his plot to take over the world is and how it works, then the good guy use that against him...I'm not that stupid Jack, if some other clever bastard wants to try his luck breaching Torchwood, who am I to ruin his fun? Let's just say...your friend on the floor was a big help..."

"W-what?" murmured Ianto, sitting up.

Cartwright laughed again and tapped his nose knowingly.

"Motive?" seethed Jack, his eyes never leaving Cartwright's face.

"You don't know do you? Has the great Torchwood not deciphered the puzzle?" grinned Cartwright, obviously enjoying himself.

"Jack..." said Tosh from behind him, Jack didn't bother to look.

"Yep?"

"Those spheres, well, they can generate a rift, a tiny one, barely enough for a humanoid to fit through..."

"Looks like your lab monkey is the only one with brains Jack..." smiled Cartwright. Jack took a deep breath through gritted teeth.

"Don't call her that..."

"I can call her what I like, after all, im the only one armed..." retorted Cartwright with a wink, "Yes...after watching you people work out your magic I've made my very own scientific discovery...a rift generator, it didn't quite go as planned though as your 'colleague' said, it only makes a tiny rift, and I had hoped for a bigger one, which is why I put one sphere in the north of Cardiff and the other in the south, but my technology will require some tweaking before I unveil it to the world and make millions!"

Cartwright drew a pistol from his lab coat, cocked it and pointed it at Ianto.

"Why poison Ianto?"

Cartwright smiled, "Just a little fun, I just wanted to see you squirm Jack..."

"So what are you gonna do know? Shoot us all?" Owen asked.

"No! That would be inhumane...no...You see...i came here so you could bribe me...bribe me so i'll leave you the rift generator and keep it a secret... and keep Torchwood a secret."

"How much do you want?"

"Jack my dear boy...I want more than money...I want fame, glory...the whole works..."

"So what do you want us to give you?" Gwen asked, eyeing the gun pointed at the now stood-up Ianto.

"The Weevil in your jail."

Jack smiled, "You are ambitious aren't you...you'll be the first man to unveil an alien to mankind...glory? You'll get it in spadefuls!"

Cartwright nodded, "So...if you give me the key, I'll go and collect it...Oh and a tranquilizer of course...incase it uses those nasty teeth"

Ianto reached into his pocket and unhooked a single key from his keychain, he held it up and looked at Jack.

"Give it to him Ianto"

Cartwright took the key and look expectantly at Owen for the tranquilizer, with a sigh and a sideways glance at Jack, he handed it over.

"Thank you...well ill be on my way...I expect we'll meet again Mr Harkness..."

"I look forward to it" smiled Jack, giving Cartwright a small wave.

Once Cartwright was out of earshot, the team looked expectantly at Jack.

"What?! You think I have a plan?"

"You always have a plan"

Jack grinned. "Indeed I do Tosh...and today is no exception.

"So what do we do?"

"We wait" Jack replied, humming under his breath.

A few minutes past and Jack glanced at his watch.

"He out yet Ianto?"

Ianto reached into his pocket and drew out a small black device.

Owen rolled his eyes. "Tracker on the key eh Ianto? Not bad..."

Ianto smiled, before pressing a few buttons on the device.

"Yep...he's at a house on Green St"

Jack laughed. "At his mother's house..."

"How do you know?" Gwen asked, bewildered.

"Well it's obvious... you think he'd just pick a random house? Though she could be his wife...if he likes older birds..."

"We'd better go...we don't know how long he's going to stay there for..." said Ianto.

"Whoa...Hang on...he's disabled our weapons... our stun guns too...how are we gonna bring him down?" Owen asked.

"We have the element of surprise...I was kina thinkin' of usin' good old brute force..." Jack winked.

"You are kidding right?"

"Maybe...maybe not..."

The Team soon arrived at the house on Green St; Jack parked the monstrous Torchwood jeep, before joining the others on the pavement outside the house.

"Still in there" remarked Ianto.

"Hang on...where's he put the Weevil?" Gwen asked.

Owen shrugged, "I'm guessin' the woman is in on it? Maybe he's keeping him in that nice roomy cellar she has..."

Jack nodded, "Taking Cartwright down is our first priority, the Weevil should be safe as it is..."

"So...whats the plan?"

"Brute force...theres only two hostiles, an elderly woman and a middle-aged professor, shouldn't be too difficult..."

"So we just kick the door down?" Owen asked eagerly.

"No! He probably has some means of teleportation; we need to sneak up to him... Owen...got your lockpicking kit with you?"

"Yup"

"Right...unlock us that door..."

Once Owen had the door unlocked, the team quietly crept in; they could hear Cartwright and his elderly acomplice talking.

"Harold darling...don't we need more tranquilizer? The beast will be awake in a few hours..."

"There's plenty at the university mother, I'm going there now..."

"Oh do come back soon Harold! It has horrid teeth!"

"Bye Mother."

The team heard footsteps, Cartwright was heading straight for them, Jack slowly moved to the corner, ready to grab him when he came past. Cartwright reached for his coat and headed for the corner. Jack waited until the last moment, then, wrapping one arm around Cartwright's waist and the other on his mouth, Jack pulled him into the corner.

"Hi...just thought we'd pay you a visit..." Jack whispered gleefully in Cartwright's ear, before Gwen cuffed him from behind, removing his weapon from his pocket as she did so, giving the gun to Jack.

"Gwen...shove the bastard in the boot"

Gwen nodded in acknowledgement, taking Cartwright from Jack, Cartwright seemed relived he'd changed hands and he bit Gwen's hand, making her flinch, she renewed her grip on him.

"Try that again...and I swear to God ill tear every one of those buggers from your mouth." Cartwright soon relented.

Jack beckoned the rest of the team to follow him and he made his way into the living room, his gun pointed directly ahead. He soon found Cartwright's mother, standing in the middle of the room, her gun pointed directly at Jack's forehead.

"Drop the gun! I will shoot!

"And you think I won't?"

The woman hesitated, the hand with the gun shook slightly, yet still she held her nerve.

"Drop the gun...and I promise we won't harm you..."

"No!" the woman sobbed, her mascara streaming down her face, "You'll make me forget!"

"It's either that or a bullet in the head"

Cartwright's mother pondered this for a moment, before releasing the gun from her grasp. Jack immediately surged forward and grabbed it.

Jack took out a Retcon pill from his jacket pocket and handed it to the woman.

"Swallow it" he ordered, his gun still pointed at her. She nodded furtively, before gulping down the yellow pill.

Jack put away his gun and surveyed the woman with a kind of pity.

"Stay here...the pill will start to work in a few minutes" he warned, before leading his team into the cellar.

The Weevil was asleep; it lay on the stone floor, seemingly defenceless. Jack looked at it in an almost loving way, before ordering Owen to help him carry the Weevil to the jeep.

Inside the jeep, they met Gwen, who helped them load the Weevil into the backseat before informing them gleefully that Cartwright had been squashed into the boot in a rather painful position.

The Team were back inside the Hub and Cartwright was back, this time defenceless and chained to a chair.

"Nice to see you again...Tell me...how are you feeling?"

Cartwright didn't meet Jack's gaze.

"Now then...we need to know where you keep all your information...y'know your evidence that Torchwod exists?"

"Going to torture me Jack?" sneered Cartwright, unperturbed.

"Yup...and guess what? I'm gonna love every minute of it" Jack replied wickedly, before montioning for Ianto to come forward.

Ianto was armed with a stun gun, however it wasn't on stun setting, he had it on a setting that would shoot 400 volts into Cartwright every time he pulled the trigger.

Cartwright eyed the gun with a certain amount of disdain.

"Gonna take more than that Jack..."

"Really...I'd be surprised..."

Ianto stood behind his prey, slowly; he pressed the gun's barrel against Cartwright's neck. Then, he pressed the trigger. Cartwright screamed as 400 volts rushed through him but Ianto didn't stop, the longing to make this man suffer was too much and he pressed the trigger again...and again, smiling as Cartwright continued to roar in pain.

"Ianto stop!" Jack shouted but to Ianto he was far away, all that mattered was the screaming, and how much he enjoyed hearing it.

The shock of Jack's touch on his shoulder was enough to stop Ianto; he let the arm holding the gun drop to his side, and watched as Cartwright caught his breath.

"You're not getting anything out of me...I won't let you ruin everything!" snarled Cartwright.

"Up the volts" said Jack, watching as Ianto pressed a few buttons on the stun gun.

"Jack...he can't take much more..." warned Owen.

"I know...do it Ianto..."

This time Ianto had control of himself, he only pressed the trigger once, but 500 volts appeared too much for Cartwright and he screamed for them to stop.

"Cardiff University! My office! Please...just leave me be..." Cartwright yelped as Ianto threateningly placed his fingers over the trigger.

"Thank you..." smiled Jack, handing Cartwright a pill, "You know what to do."

Cartwright swallowed the pill without any complaint

The rest of the night passed without much excitement, an anonymous order was sent to Cardiff's chief of police, and Cardiff University was raided. All documents and tapes containing Torchwood information were destroyed; Cartwright was dropped off at his mother's house, who by that time wondered why her 58 year-old son had come to visit her for the first time in months. Gwen left the Hub first and returned to the house she shared with Rhys, who apologised and asked if she'd have him back. Gwen of course, forgave him and the pair went to their local pub for a drink. Ianto however, was still stuck in the Hub; Owen had promised to return give Ianto a lift earlier before he'd left to sort out 'urgent business' but seemed to forget this and didn't return. Ianto resigned himself to the half hour walk home. Before he'd barely started his trek however, he was ambushed by Jack who was driving the jeep.

"What happened to your wheels?" Jack shouted.

"Flat tyres...need to push it to the garage when I get the chance" Ianto replied.

"Hop in!"

Ianto climbed into the passenger seat, while Jack restarted the car.

Surprisingly Jack made no attempt at conversation, so the journey continued in silence until Jack pulled up on the road beside Ianto's house.

"Thanks for the lift" Ianto said as he climbed out the car and shut the door behind him, Jack too, climbed out the car and locked it.

"No problem"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm walking you to your door" smirked Jack as he followed Ianto up the path to his apartment.

"Oh...well...Im a grown man...i don't really need you to walk me to my door..."

Jack shrugged. "I want to."

Ianto turned away from Jack unlock his door, he stepped inside and hung his coat up and wasn't surprised at all to find Jack standing behind him.

"Y'know...when you said 'door' i thought you meant the front door but obviosly i was mistaken..." smiled Ianto.

"You were"

"So...why are you here?"

"Why do you think?"

Ianto shrugged, "Don't know...tell me."

"I rang Gwen earlier to tell her to forget me and get back with Rhys..." Jack explained tensely.

"I heard before i left from Tosh that those two can gotten back together..."

"I'm glad" smiled Jack, and for once, Ianto could tell he wasn't lying.

"I-I didn't expect this..." Ianto said, genuinely feeling surprised and incredibly happy.

Jack tentatively reached forward and placed both of his hands around Ianto's neck.

Ianto Jones..." Jack whispered, before edging ever closer.

"Mhmm?"

"I love you" Jack breathed, before kissing him. Ianto couldn't believe what was happening, he wrapped his arms around Jack's waist and they stood there, for what seemed like an eternity, entwined in each others arms.

"I have a bed...but it's only a single..."

"It'll do" replied Jack, before renewing his oral onslaught.

About an hour later, the pair were squashed together in Ianto's bed, Jack was feeling drowsy and had to fight to keep his eyes open, whilst Ianto was wide awake, still wallowing in his own happiness.

"When that bastard poisoned you, when you lay in my arms, the life drained from you...i thought i was going to lose you..." Jack whispered.

Ianto chuckled quietly. "You think I'd die before getting my wicked way with you?"

"Wicked way? I think I was perfectly cooperative Mr Jones..."

"Hmmm...Well you needn't worry Mr Harkness...i'll be here to haunt you for at least a few more years..."

"Just a few more?"

"Till you make an honest man out of me"

"Marriage?!" spluttered Jack.

"Scratch that...kids as well..."

Jack sighed, "You bastard...I thought you were being serious then..."

_I was about the marriage part _Ianto thought with a smile.

"We could use a surrogate if we want kids..." Jack continued.

"Oh yeah? Who?"

Jack's mouth exploded into an evil grin. "Gwen."

"No!"

The End


End file.
